How Unfortunate
by Quazimode
Summary: When Austin and Ally hook up after a night of bonding, they don't realize the unfortunate predicament it puts them in. M for lemons/ Multi-chapter Story/ AU.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first fic and I'm kinda nervous about it. Well, I say my first fic, I've written about 4 but didn't publish them because I wanted to make sure the first one I put out was reflective of what I felt my writing could be like. I'm still not sure if I'm really happy with this but hopefully I'll get better with time. I really like the idea I have for this one so here goes nothing.**

_Ally_

I took a moment to breath it all in.

I stood there, my back facing the huge wall-sized windows lining the edge of the apartment, and stared at Trish and I's new home, drinking in every single detail; basking in the glory of it.

The soft cream carpet; the dark red walls; the, rather modest, black and white marble kitchen; the huge TV; the dark black couch; the two doors leading into each of our rooms; and of course the beautiful view of Miami's skyline. It was beyond my wildest dreams.

And the best part?

It was _ours._

All that time and effort put into saving for a new place, all those cost cutting meals and the charity-shop clothes shopping had finally paid off: we owned every single inch of this apartment.

I felt a huge weight off my shoulders: no more worrying about being shot in my old apartment's bad neighbourhood, no more wondering if I would have to ask my parents for housing and look like pathetic failure, no more realistic ideas of becoming a stripper to make ends meat while saving for the house.

I shivered at the idea.

But it was okay. Cause that didn't have to happen, Trish and I got the money together and we had enough money put away to keep us here for a while.

"Finally finished." I sighed, slumping onto the couch.

"I know, I never want to unpack a box ever again." Trish moaned, flopping down beside me.

I scoffed: Trish liked to believe she did work but she had this tendency to exaggerate her labour efforts. Translation - she unpacked like 2 boxes and spent the rest of the time reading a magazine while I organised the furniture and decorations.

"What're you talking about? You did practically nothing! God knows how hard it is gonna be living with you." I said mockingly, with a grin plastered across my face. I didn't care about how hard it would be to be honest, we'd been through the worst bit and now I got to go through whatever comes next with my best friend.

"Too late to back out now." She retorted and we both chuckled. "Okay fine. How about you stay here and put your feet up and I'll go get us some groceries? I mean who knows, maybe there's a job opening down there." She said, getting up and putting her shoes on, which, might I add, were nicely placed on the shoe rack I built not three hours ago.

"Trish! I thought you had a job!?" I said, semi-scared that she already wouldn't be able to make rent, however also semi-jokingly, as I knew that counting on her to have dependable income was risky business.

God help me.

"Yeah turns out the pet shop wasn't my calling. Plus it made me stink of wet dog which didn't help at the night club scene." She said, putting her coat on and grabbing her keys. "Which reminds me, tomorrow night, you and me, scoping out that new night club on 6th for some talent. We'll celebrate getting the apartment and you getting that new job." She exclaimed, pointing her finger at me.

"You got it. T-Rose and the Ally-gator gonna 'Hit tha town!'" I shouted, lazily pointing back at her while lying on the couch with a smile.

"You're such a dork." She said giggling And just like that, she was gone.

I continued to admire our apartment from the comfort of the couch. The large windows behind the TV almost made me feel like watching TV would be wrong, considering the breathtaking view beyond it. Although, who am I kidding? I'm not gonna pretend like binging on crappy television isn't something I both thoroughly enjoy and would part-take in over admiring a gorgeous view any day.

I grabbed the remote off of the coffee table, which was, admittedly, a straining activity, and started flicking through channels. I was absent mindedly clicking buttons, not really caring about what I watched as long as it didn't make me think, when I stumbled across America's Next Top Model.

Jackpot.

I sat watching the pretty tragic TV show (which mainly consisted of girls complaining about their hair being cut and having to walk in heels) for about 20 minutes until I heard a knock at the door.

'Dammit Trish!' I thought to myself, accepting that it was most likely the short Latina girl. Knowing her, she would have gotten half way to the grocery store, realised she didn't have any money, came back home and would ask _me_ for money.

I lazily got up off the couch and stumbled over to the door, turning the latch and swinging it open.

But when I opened the door it _definitely _wasn't Trish.

Tall.

Blonde.

Muscular.

And no doubt the sexiest guy I'd ever seen.

"Hi there." The hunk said, holding his arm up in a static wave. Those arms were impressive; they _filled_ the black and white T-shirt he was wearing.

"Hi." I said, in an almost inaudible volume.

"I'm Austin, from apartment 20 upstairs. I saw you and another girl moving in here this morning and wanted to come by and welcome you into the building." He said with a huge grin, holding up a bottle of wine.

Considerate _and_ has wine on tap. Round of applause for Austin.

"That's so nice." I smiled at him, "It's nice to meet you Austin, I'm Ally. Come on in, I'll get some glasses." I said with a huge grin. It dawned on me at this point that he had said nothing about wanting to come in and for all I knew that bottle of wine was for his girlfriend that he was on his way to see. Luckily my doubts were thwarted when I saw him put the wine bottle on the counter and start opening it.

"I'm glad you're accepting towards the idea of the wine, my room mate said the idea was too forward." Austin said, as he easily unscrewed the cap.

"Are you kidding? If you come with wine, you're welcome in apartment 15 any time." I said as I placed the glasses on the counter.

"Hey, that was a rhyme." He said, brightly.

We both laughed when we looked at each other in amusement after we realised that was another rhyme.

As I started to pour the wine for us both I brought up the notion of the room mate. "So did you're room mate decide Trish and I weren't worth meeting?" I asked. Although what I really wanted to ask was, 'Is it a girl and are you screwing her?', not that I thought either answer would stop me from having a little fun with him tonight.

"Dez headed out to get groceries." He answered, picking up his wine glass.

"Funny, that's where Trish went." I said as I flopped onto the couch next to where Austin had already sat down.

"So, tell me about yourself, who is Miss Ally..." He said, gesturing for me to fill in the gap.

"Dawson." I replied.

"Ally Dawson. Nice name." He said with a warm smile.

My knees felt slightly weak.

"Yeah so tell me why'd you move here? How old are you? Where do you work? When did you have your first kiss? What's your boyfriend's name?" He asked, excitedly but only showing a smirk.

"Well, Mr. ..."

"Moon."

"Mr. Moon, ummm I moved here because of wanting to get out of the shit hole I was living in before. I'm 22 years old. I recently got a new job actually, but beforehand I worked in a school. I had my first kiss when I was 12, and it was horrible by the way, I completely missed his mouth and ended up making out with his chin." I giggled slightly ashamed.

He giggled as well.

Wow.

I took another second to remember his last question.

"Oh and I don't actually have a boyfriend." I sighed.

_Austin_

I inwardly punched my fist in the air.

This girl. This. Girl. This extraordinarily pretty, funny, _sexy_ girl was _single_.

I took a moment to drink all this in, to drink her in.

I looked at her, I mean really _looked _ at her, because I mean... look at her.

I saw her high wasted denim jeans and remembered the way they made her ass look sexy as hell when she walked away from me to get the glasses.

I saw her brown beautiful orbs that looked like pools of chocolate that I just wanted to swim in.

I saw her amazing chestnut hair with ombre highlights and loved how the locks fanned out over her shoulders, making her look so sexy.

I saw her slightly loose grey jumper and liked the way that it made her look slightly innocent, but cropped up slightly whenever she moved, making her look anything but.

Wow.

Obviously I tried to play it cool and picked up on a different point that she'd just mentioned, not wanting to sound desperate.

"You're 22? Does this mean it's a perfect night? Do you gotta have me?" I said sipping my wine and smirking, trying to seem cooler than what I just said.

Play it_ cool_.

Moron.

_Ally_

"Wow, referencing Taylor Swift. I think you need to step up your game a bit, biatch!" I said, suddenly shaking my head quickly realising what I said, "Sorry," I shyly spoke looking up at him, "I get a bit ghetto when I'm tipsy." I then realised I'd finished my wine and started blushing.

Please don't think I'm an alcoholic.

"What do you sound like when you're full on drunk?" He asked with a signature smirk and a small chuckle.

"Jamaican."

We both erupted into fits of laughter.

Austin shuffled up to me on the couch, closing the gap between us slightly. Our knees were now knocking as we sat cross-legged, staring at each other and casually chatting. It felt much more _intimate_.

After about 40 minutes we learnt more stuff about each other. Austin was 23 and had also graduated early from college, he'd been living here for 2 years, he was also single (inward high five) and we both learnt we were pretty hungry - it was 8:30 after all. We agreed that neither of us wanted to or could cook, as we were lazy and didn't have any food in either house.

Where was Trish?

Eh, she'll be fine, she can _definitely_ handle herself. If she was in a fight with a tiger... I'd feel sorry for the feline creature.

"Let's order pizza!" Austin said with a huge smile and pleading eyes. He'd gone from sex god to adorable puppy in 0.3 seconds.

I was pretty certain he was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in my whole entire life.

"We should totally order pizza!" I said excitedly, as we both bounced on the sofa in tandem. Take-out pizza had been a pipe dream for me the last couple years: it was too expensive, not what was needed for making the money to get a new house. Now though, I had some money and could afford to be a little laid back.

Bliss.

Austin got up and grabbed my landline phone from the counter. "I know a place." He assured me.

"Cool I'll get my purse." I said, rushing over to my room passed Austin.

Or at least I would have gone past Austin, but he grabbed me from behind with one hand around my waist and held me tight, flush against his front. I was glad he couldn't see the massive blush on my face as I could feel his body heat radiate my small form.

"Hi, yes this is Austin, I'd like to order a large pepperoni pizza please. Yeah Austin from apartment 20, although this time deliver it to apartment 15. Yes go ahead and put it on my tab. Thanks." He said, hanging up, somehow knowing my favourite pizza topping.

He was still holding me and I could feel his hot breath down my neck.

His breath was a little shaky, like I could tell he was nervous. But his nerves seemed to evade him when he slowly pushed my hair to one side and ran his soft lips and nose up and down my neck.

I jumped a little when he slowly wrapped another arm around my waist and suddenly my breath was shaky and uneven too. I was just getting used to the feeling - the amazing, sensual feeling - when he spun me around suddenly, grabbing my wrists and pulling them around his neck, so I was resting on him. I started getting a tingling feeling between my legs.

"You know," he said, "you should let yourself be treated a little bit, even if it is only pizza."

I could barely breath. His voice was hushed and deep as he stared into my eyes. He started switching his gaze from my eyes to my lips and grasped me firmly with both hands around my waist. I responded and wrapped my arms more firmly around his neck.

He started leaning in and my eyes began to flutter shut, but remained slightly open.

"And why's that?" I asked in a hushed tone, as he was no more than an inch away. I could almost feel his lips on my own. His plump, red, _hungry_ lips.

Whatever dream I'm in, don't wake me up just yet.

Or ever.

"Because otherwise how am I supposed to impress you?" He said, laughing. And just as he started to lean in more, he edged back rapidly, escaping out of my grasp and turning so his back was facing me while he walked to the kitchen. I recoiled at the lack of intimacy, my body suddenly feeling like it was empty, but wasn't too disheartened because I knew that he couldn't resist having that feeling again at some point in the night.

I really hoped he couldn't resist.

He walked over to the fridge and grabbed the wine, pouring us another glass each.

"Okay, time for some more risqué questions." He teased with a massive grin.

"Alright, if you think you can handle it." I retorted, leaning on the other side of the counter, my boobs accentuated by the stance, which Austin duly noted. I should have been slightly offended by the lingering stare, but when I looked up at Austin's face, him still holding his gaze on my chest, I knew it wouldn't have meant anything. Plus I kinda liked it.

Plus I kinda _really _liked it.

He eventually shook his trance and leaned in close over the counter, but not as close as before, just so that I could stare into his eyes and still remember where I was. "How many sexual partners have you had?" He asked with a smug look.

"3." I answered, looking him straight in the eye, showing him I was up to the challenge of his question. "And you?" I asked as smugly as he'd done prior.

"10." He said proudly, although avoiding eye contact.

I gasped. "10? **10**? **10****? **You man whore!"

"Hey come on now. Only like 4 of them were one night stands..."

I folded my arms.

"5..."

I stared at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay over half of them were one night stands, but two of them were at the same time."

"Oh my god! You sleezy little shit." I said with a shocked smile. I was shocked, I was, but I did kind of understand it: He was good looking, nice, funny and sweet but also kind of _not _sweet. Plus he was quite charming and made me feel special.

The fact that he had been with 10 girls did kind of bother me, though. I mean, was I just gonna be another one to add to the tally? The notion made me start to doubt whether any of the flirting was actually personal, or whether he was just looking for an easy fuck and was using cheap tricks he'd used on the other girls. Maybe he made all girls feel special, meaning none of them actually were. I mean for god's sake, he didn't even leave his own building to get me, surely he just wanted something easy... right?

I guess my worry appeared on my face since Austin clocked on and held my chin, bringing my head up so I was looking at him in the eye.

He stared at me. Really stared at me, like he wasn't trying to _talk _to me, but trying to _convince_ me.

"I went through a bad break up. A _really _bad break up. Honestly ask Dez, he'll tell you about how bad I was. Random women became my outlet for the anger. It was stupid, really stupid and I ended up feeling worse than I did during the break up. But that was years ago. Now I know that doesn't help anything." He said seriously, constantly switching his gaze between my eyes. I realised that what I was wanting to do - to stay distant while being intimate - could never work. I learnt that the idea of 'distance while being intimate' is a paradox, it means you'll just end up running around in circles of discontent and unhappiness, never moving on, never being truly happy, never achieving anything. So I stopped sleeping around with random girls." He looked down at his hands that were now picking at each other on the counter.

I knew that he didn't tell a lot of people that. His passionate nature in his speech was one of spontaneity, like it had never been rehearsed. I felt endeared and I liked that.

"Why did you ask the question if you knew you might have to answer about something you weren't proud of?" I asked curious but also timid, not wanting to offend him: it'd obviously taken a lot of courage to reveal himself like that to a practical stranger.

"Because you're never proud of everything you are Ally. Even though you can choose which window of a house you show someone, once someone gets inside the crap's all the same." He said smiling and laughing, standing up straight and widening the gap between us. "How poetic." He smiled, taking a sip of wine.

It was.

"Okay, okay. Show me another window to your crap." I paused, thinking of an appropriate question. "When did you lose your virginity?" I asked smugly, taking a sip of wine.

"16." He replied, smirking.

I nodded for him to expand.

"It was with a college girl. She was my sister's friend who came back with her during spring break. She was hot, really hot, but dumb as a sack of bricks. My horny teenage mind couldn't really comprehend the idea of a college chick being into me, so I didn't really care about her intelligence."

I shook my head at his promiscuity.

He laughed.

"She said, and I quote, that I 'rocked her world'." He stated, folding his arms and leaning back.

"And what about you?" He asked inquisitively.

"16."

"Pray tell."

"I was with my boyfriend of 8 months, Dallas. We both decided we wanted to do it after a while of contemplating, to try it out more than anything."

"Good first time?" He asked, almost concerned.

"Shit, completely shit." I answered laughing. We both chuckled. "He lasted about 30 seconds and couldn't even make me cum. He actually couldn't any of the times we were together." I said staring into my wine glass while swirling the contents around.

I could _see _the information being processed by Austin when I looked up as his face almost melted into disbelief.

"He _never_ made you cum?!" Austin asked, completely and utterly shocked.

"Yeah, so? It's not that shocking." I replied nonchalantly.

Austin scoffed. "Ummmmm... Yeah it is!" He spat, wide eyed.

"Not really - none of the guys I've been with have been able to." I said, batting my eyes lids and taking a sip of wine.

Austin's mouth dropped to the floor and he seemed to slip a bit, rolling his hips behind the counter as his upper body moved on the counter.

"Ally, so you've... you've never...?"

"Not by anyone else, no." I answered innocently.

_Austin_

I couldn't believe those bastards.

Those. _Bastards_.

This girl was beyond my wildest dreams and I knew she deserved to be treated right. Or treated wrong.

_Very wrong._

I just wanted to grab her and take her right there on the counter. I wanted to crush my lips to hers and fuck her till she found her nirvana. I wanted to show her the best time of her life over and over again. I wanted _her_.

Scratch that.

I _needed _her.

And that's what I would've done if I didn't hear a knock on the door.

"Pizza delivery."

Right, shit yeah, food. I guess I'd have to show her a good time in a little while.

_Ally_

I walked over to the door and opened it, glad I didn't have to pay him since Austin had a tab. I was surprised when I saw a rather handsome looking guy hand me the pizza. He was tanned, with soft brown hair that swept across his forehead. He _was_ handsome, although not nearly as handsome as Austin.

No where near.

Not even close.

He not-so-subtly stared me down as he handed me the pizza box and suddenly I felt uncomfortable. Forget handsome this guy was actually just creepy. He put his arm up against the door frame and got pretty up close and personal to me, so our foreheads were no more than an inch away from each other.

"So babe, did you order some company with that pizza or are you just gonna get it for free?" He said winking and licking his teeth.

Yuck.

I felt a warm arm wrap around my waist, pulling me tightly into its owner's body.

"I think she's good dude." Austin replied for me, nonchalantly. "Wouldn't you say so Ally?" He asked, looking down at me with a smug smile.

Austin was suddenly the one who was up close and personal with me, while Mr. Yuck had left the immediate vicinity.

"Yeah I'm good, thanks." I almost whispered, getting lost in his eyes.

His dark brown eyes.

Suddenly Austin slammed the door, not paying any attention to the pizza delivery guy.

He grabbed the pizza out of my hand and chucked it on the nearby counter while pushing me against the door.

Suddenly _our _foreheads were the ones that were close.

"You weren't attracted to him were you?" He asked, rubbing his nose against mine slightly while placing one hand above me against the door.

I couldn't speak. His presence threw me off guard and all that I could handle was a frantic head shake.

"Good. Because I really like you... and I was hoping I could take you where no man has taken you before." He said, with a hint of a question in his voice.

My knees locked as I felt a pool form in my underwear.

"But that can't really happen if a pizza delivery guy is in the way." He said, eye fucking me.

My breath hitched as I started to feel him slowly rock his hips against mine and grab my waist.

I knew what he meant. I knew he was talking about making me cum. But fuck he could have said he was taking me to Disneyland and I wouldn't have given a shit, I just wanted him in any way I could get him.

Forget MDMA, forget heroine, forget weed, Austin Moon was the best fucking drug there was.

And I had a horrendous addiction.

"That's a bit blunt don't you think?" I asked as my eyes fluttered shut against his head. I could feel his lips lightly brush against mine.

Holy. Fuck.

"No." He said shaking his forehead against my own. "This would be blunt."

And suddenly he crushed his lips to mine, sending impulses through my body that I honestly thought could have made me fly. He was smiling into the kiss and I sincerely hoped he couldn't hear the rapid beat of my heart.

He traced his tongue along my lower lip, pleading for entrance.

Entrance granted.

Soon his tongue stopped attacking my own and moved lower down to my neck. His soft nose rubs were a juxtaposition to his angry bites along my collar bone which were both driving me crazy.

Somehow I'd forgotten how to breath, but I didn't really care. If breathing meant no Austin Moon then breathing meant nothing to me.

I was barely able to register what was going on when he grabbed both my legs and hoisted me up, me retaliating by wrapping my legs around his waist.

"Ally – I... we... bedroom – _now_." He breathed in between kisses into my mouth.

His lips returned to mine and he blindly carried me to the doors in urgency.

"The left." I groaned and let out a helpless mewl as he nodded urgently and started sucking on my neck.

We crashed onto the bed and I urgently sat up and tore his T-shirt off.

Sweet perfectly-toned Jesus.

Did he _live_ at a gym?

I traced every ab with my tongue, savouring his taste, noting that they did indeed taste as good as they looked.

I heard him groan as he grabbed my hair and grip it slightly.

"Fuck, baby." He moaned.

I looked up and saw his face tightly scrunched up, almost as if he was in pain. It was at that point that I noticed the tent in his pants.

Wow.

I mean fuck me, boy scouts could have camped under there.

_Fuck_ _Me_. Boy scouts could have camped in there.

"You hurting down there big boy?" I said innocently smiling up at him and pressed my hands into his bulge, palming him through his jeans.

He sucked in air through clenched teeth as he nodded desperately with his eyes closed.

"Let me help you out there." I teased, unzipping his pants and pushing down his boxers, revealing what could only be described as a girl's dream.

A girl's _wet dream._

He got better and better and I sincerely hoped that that trend continued throughout the night.

I grabbed his shaft and started stroking him, resulting in Austin groaning in an almost animalistic fashion. He responded by grabbing my hair and pulling me into an almighty kiss, simultaneously taking off my T-shirt and pants and chucking them across the room.

The puddle between my legs could now only be described as a waterfall.

I was drenched.

Suddenly he grabbed me and lay me down on the bed, forcing me to release my grip on his member.

"Tonight's about _you_ Ally. I want _you_ to enjoy this. Enjoy it like you deserve to." He whispered in my ear, licking it slightly.

My breath hitched in my throat: I knew it was going to be good.

I knew it was going to be mind-fuckingly amazing.

He unhooked my bra in a swift flick with one hand, discarding the attire somewhere around the room and immediately attacked my nipples, pinching one and sucking on the other. A wave of pleasure was sent coursing through my veins as my hips bucked underneath him.

He worked his way down, tracing his tongue along my stomach slowly, finally reaching his destination.

Oh _shit_.

He bit down on my underwear and tore them down my legs with his teeth. Growling like a beast.

A _really sexy _beast.

"Wait!" I exclaimed.

"Do you want to stop?!" He asked with a worried expression, almost getting up. "Sorry I shouldn't have taken advantage of you, Ally." He said concerned. "It's just I really wanted you to... I really wanted to show you that... I really wanted you." He blurted out, lost for words.

He was caring as well.

I'm done. I'm so fucking done.

"No, no. No." I paused, showing that I really wanted _him _too. "I _definitely _don't want you to stop. It's just that... well... no one's ever done _that _before." I said shyly. "I'm not sure if I'll like it." I avoided his gaze, embarrassed slightly.

His face looked shocked again.

"Ally, you've been with 3 ass holes. 3 inconsiderate jackasses." He said with a dead stare. "Let me show you, please. Let me show you how good you can feel." He pleaded.

I nodded my head slowly as my breath hitched. The fact that he _wanted _to make me feel good. Could he get any hotter?

Suddenly I felt a tingle between my thighs and I realised it was Austin's finger. He slowly motioned it in and out, sending me into a whole new world of pleasure.

"You're so wet baby. Is that for me?" He asked teasingly.

All I could manage was a mewl in response along with a desperate nod as he shoved another digit in me. I shuffled slightly, my hips rising, and erupted in a high-pitched moan as he sped up.

"Good girl." He smirked.

Anyone would think I was being tortured in here, but Austin and I knew I was being anything but.

Soon I felt a third digit and, before I could process it, I could feel his tongue on me.

I_n me._

He was a gift that kept on giving.

His tongue darted in and out of my pussy, making sweet, soft licks. Meanwhile his hands massaged my boobs in rough circles and every so often hitting them lightly.

All of a sudden he reappeared from in between my legs and looked up at me.

"Ally – I... I – really want to carry on but-" Austin groaned.

"Austin." I whispered, knowing what he meant.

"Yeah?" He said, looking up concerned.

I grabbed his hair and pulled him close so I was next to his ear, "Go ahead. Make me forget those 3 selfish bastards. Make me forget the pizza guy. Fuck Austin, make me forget my own name." I whispered desperately.

And soon I could feel his member at my entrance, teasing me as it brushed up against my fold. But I was left feeling empty when it didn't enter.

"Shit. Condom." He worried, looking up at me.

"Don't worry, I'm on the pill." I assured him, grinding my hips against him, _needing_ friction.

And before I knew it he was inside me.

_Inside. Me_.

He growled as he kissed my neck and plunged in and out of me, our hips rocking in tandem.

I was already so close and he'd just started.

Props to Austin.

I could tell that he was close too, judging by his urgent moans.

"Is that... the- best you can do?" I teased in between gasps.

I could feel him smirk against my lips and felt a sharp sting on my ass as he spanked me, hard enough to make me mewl. I smiled up at him as he raised his eyebrows in cockiness.

Jesus Christ he was good.

"That's it baby, be a good little girl. God you're so tight." He almost screamed.

He continued plunging into me and we were both reaching our peak, knowing that he was about to achieve what he had set out for.

"Cum with me Ally. Please baby, cum with me." He pleaded, sounding desperate while staring into my eyes and rubbing circles against my clit with his hand.

He slowly pulled out of me, using all his willpower, and rammed into me again, filling me to my very core. My hands gripped his hair tightly whilst he groaned my name.

"Fuck me, baby." I whaled, meaning every word.

And suddenly my vision went white and all I knew was Austin Moon.

We rode out our orgasms in tandem, screaming in pure heaven, although the noises emulated fiery pits of hell.

I felt the waves of my orgasm ride through my body and felt Austin's warm seed inside me, trickling inside my core.

He kissed my forehead lightly while smiling and slowly rolled off me, looking tired and sweaty, as well as so, _so _sexy.

I rolled over so that I was facing him, while his hand fiddled with my long locks of hair.

"I hope I showed you some sense, Ally." He whispered out of breath.

"Who's Ally?" I breathed in reply, smirking against his lips.

We both laughed though slightly out of breath and shut our eyes.

"Thank you, Austin." I whispered.

"Thank _you, _Ally." He replied, wrapping his arm around me.

We both drifted off to sleep...

Blissfully unaware and too happy to care.

…

The next morning I woke up to emptiness. Emptiness entailing the lack of a certain blonde in my bed as well as the void feeling in my stomach that followed.

I looked around frantically, searching for a mop of blonde hair and a toned muscular body, but alas, they were nowhere to be found.

I surge of emotions ran through my body all at once, leaving me unaware of which ones I was experiencing.

Anger.

Hurt.

Regret.

Vulnerability.

Embarrassment.

He just left? I had the best sex of my life and he just left!?

That dick.

_But that dick._

"No, focus Ally, you hate him!" I scolded myself.

That speech. That _bullshit _speech about him having changed and not using women.

I was such an idiot.

I heard the door latch sound and quickly put on my underwear and a long T-shirt, rushing out to see who was there.

"Hey Ally." Trish beamed as she entered the house, almost looking too cheerful for... 7am!

Holy shit I had work in an hour! Fuck this day was getting worse and worse by the second.

It suddenly dawned on me that Trish was returning now from a trip to the grocery store she started yesterday. She had some explaining to do.

"Trish, where were you last night!?" I asked, panicked, although with Austin and my job to worry about, where she was last night was actually the least of my concerns.

"I ran into a really cute red head named Dez at the grocery store. We went out for coffee and really hit it off. And you'll never believe it." She said excited.

Oh I'm pretty sure I was. Even so, what are the odds of two hook ups occurring between two sets of room mates on the same night.

"He lives upstairs!" She burst out laughing. "It was so funny, we spent 20 minutes trying to decide who's place to go to, when we realised that we were basically going to the same place!" She giggled.

After she recovered from her fits of laughter she eyed me up and down whilst I prepared my breakfast by searching for some food, most likely noticing my lack of clothes and my messy hair.

"Looks like you got lucky last night as well." She said laughing to herself, most likely at the notion that I slept with someone. Innocent little Ally Dawson having _sex_ with someone.

The horror.

I'm not _innocent; _I think last night proved that. But out of Trish and I, I was considered to be the more... _reserved_ room mate. I was much less likely to bring a guy back with me from a night out, but that doesn't mean it never happens. I do have one night stands.

...Apparently.

_Dick._

"As a matter of fact I did get some action last night." I said, slightly peeved as if I were angry about it.

I was.

"WHAT!?" Trish screamed.

"Yes I slept with someone. I slept with the room mate of the person you slept with - Austin. The guy upstairs that you probably saw when you were leaving the apartment." It dawned on me at that moment that I would most likely see him again around the building.

Shit.

Nice move Ally.

"I didn't see anyone apart from Dez. But that's not the point, I mean...NO WAY!" Trish said with a shocked expression which I duly ignored, still frantically trying to find some food.

"Yes way." I spat. "God dammit Trish! You were supposed to get groceries! We don't have any food." I shouted slamming the last cupboard door and staring at her, folding my arms.

"Yeah sorry... I – we got a little... distracted." She said quitely giggling and looking down at the floor. "But I did manage to get a job!" She beamed, proud.

"Good." I sighed, finally some relief. "Okay you need to keep this one. We will be out of this house in no time if you don't start bringing in some income." I said sternly.

She nodded, agreeing.

I checked in the fridge hoping there was some milk or something that I could consume to get me partially ready for the day.

The first day at my _new job_.

Shit.

When I looked in the fridge I was surprised. I saw a plate, filled up with a batch of freshly cooked pancakes and a note on top.

**Sorry, duty calls and you looked too peaceful to wake. Saw that Trish hadn't come back and I wanted to make sure you had some food for you first day at work; good luck, I'm sure you'll do great.**

**P.S. Thanks for last night. **

**Or should you be thanking me? ;)**

**P.P.S. We should do this again. We should do _that _ again. You know where I am xxx**

**-Austin xox**

He does care.

It wasn't just a one night stand.

He wants to do _that _ again.

This morning just became the best one of my life.

Pancakes and an amazing note = perfect morning.

I gobbled up the pancakes and quickly exchanged some details with Trish about last night, followed by showering and getting dressed.

Soon enough I was out the door on my way to work, Trish shouting at me, "Good luck, and remember, new club - 8 o'clock at the venue."

"Okay." I shouted in reply, running down the hall.

…

8:01am

The elevator doors split open and I was awestruck by the huge, glass pannelled, people filled, marble pillar supported, office floor. It was amazing. There were desks everywhere, _dark oak _desks everywhere. And the huge window wall facing out into the street meant the whole room was beautifully lit. The marble pillars situated at measured intervals along the floor gave the area a rather mature feeling.

It was really something this place.

Then again I suppose it had to be.

The company I was now working for, subject to contract signature at 8:05, was called OpsCorp. It's main trade is maximising the potential use of data and then providing the information to businesses and stock markets so that shares can change accordingly. Effectively this office _runs _the economy.

No pressure.

I went over to the secretary placed to the right of the elevator and clocked in.

"Hi I'm Ally Dawson, here to finalise my job contract and start today." I said happily, because really, what reason did I have not to do so?

"Sure." She said with a chippy smile as she typed away on her computer.

This girl was the _optimity_ of a secretary. Think of any secretary you've seen in any film. That's - I checked her name tag - Cassidy, for you. Blonde hair, ridiculously pretty, short black pencil skirt, tight fitting blouse and movie star make up? Check.

"Okay, so you need to go upstairs to the Board of Director's room. It's just up the stairs and it's the door in the middle." She smiled.

"Thanks." I replied.

I slowly walked round to the right, taking in the beauty of the office floor's architecture. The stairs wrapped around the room and led up to a large platform with a marble banister lining it, overlooking the rest of the floor.

I looked at each oak wood door and the golden plaque that read next to each one.

'Deputy Director's Office'

'Executive Director's Office'

'Board Of Director's Conference Room'

That was the one for me.

I knocked on the door and heard a ''Come in'' over the load conversations filling the air of the floor.

I slowly opened the door, letting the nerves wash over me slightly – excited but cautious to start this new job.

But I realised that I had very little reason to be nervous:

I was very well trained for my job from my math degree in statistics; I had already technically _got _the job as I was just finalising the contract; plus I really liked this place and it seemed like a nice environment.

It wasn't like I was gonna have to fight a bear or sleep with the boss to get the job. All I had to do was put a pen to a piece of paper and I'd be an employee.

Simple.

But as I walked in all my feelings of confidence escaped my body:

Because as I entered I was greeted by a _very_ familiar form.

Blonde hair.

Tanned skin.

Big, beautiful brown eyes.

And suddenly the void feeling was back.

The emptiness arose again.

The day was no longer the best of my life.

It was once again, completely and utterly...

"Shit."

**So this is normally the part where people ask for a review and a follow, and while that would still be really great and I'd really appreciate, I'm mainly just glad you bothered to read it to the end of the chapter. Thank you so so much xxx**

**Hopefully I should update by next Sunday but don't hold me to that. I'm doing my GCSEs right now and kinda need to revise for those... but eh who needs them anyway? Apparently not me. **

**Seriously thank you so so much.**

**P.S Super super stoked for Laura in The Vamps music video. **

**My heterosexuality is fading with each photo of her.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Shit." I mumbled under my breath as I noticed the blonde standing a few feet in front of me, holding some documents and showing them to Mr Starr.

He was wearing a slick white shirt with a simple black tie and dark, neat pants and shoes. He looked... tidy.

He looked up and immediately his eyes blew wide open, so far that I could see into his soul - I could feel his panic.

His eyes locked with mine and we shared a scared look.

A knowing look.

A look that consumed us both and spat us out nervous, blushing wrecks.

So many questions were flowing through my head.

'Why was he here?'

'Was he an employee?'

'Did he know that I was gonna work here?'

'Was last night just a way for him to have some power over me at work?'

'If it was sincere, does this mean we can't date?'

Fuck.

But suddenly Austin straightened up and regained his composure, as if nothing were significant.

"Ummm..." Austin stalled, as Mr Starr was left confused by the lingering glare Austin and I were holding. "And that's all Jimmy, I'll get those reports to you on Friday and process that data into the secondary file slot." Austin said maturely, edging towards the door, and therefore towards me.

"Okay Moon. Be prompt with those reports, we need them for the QST progress chart." Mr Starr said in a business-like tone while sitting down in his chair.

"Of course, Jim." Austin replied, in a similar tone.

I slanted sideways, allowing Austin to swiftly scoot past me and out the door.

Too many things were flashing through my head. All I could do, however, was focus on the task in front of me.

"Miss Dawson, please, take a seat." Mr Starr beamed at me, motioning towards a chair opposite his desk, which I sat down in.

Mr Starr was the head of OpsCorp. I had my interview with him a month ago and he seemed really warm and kind, with big geeky glasses and a snazzy dress sense. My favourite things about him, though, were the facts that I , a) had never slept with him and b) knew he worked here and could therefore be assured that sleeping with him was risky.

I took a moment to appreciate the office as I waited for Jimmy to sort some files out while sitting in my chair. There was a large glass-window-wall behind Mr Starr and a beautiful mahogany desk in front that stretched at least 15 feet, surrounded by various chairs for conferences I guessed.. There was sparse decoration, with a few plants in the corner and some pictures hung up of people I assumed were his family on the white walls surrounding me.

Mr Starr began straitening some pieces of paper and I honed my focus back to him.

I really had to focus – Austin was still lingering in my mind.

I can't even begin to think about that now.

"Okay now, Miss Dawson, this is your contract which explains salary, working hours, grounds for maternity leave, vacation and termination. If you want to give it a quick read and with signatures in the appropriately marked places I would be happy to welcome you to the OpsCorp work force." Mr Starr said sliding a contract over to me and pointing at specific points.

I read through most of it, satisfied with the salary that would easily mean that I could have a decent living and pay rent. I only hovered over the section for maternity – it really wasn't a main concern at the moment, but it seemed adequate. Vacation was 4 weeks a year which I thought was fair, since it was a fairly important company and needed constant staff involvement.

I read intently over '_**GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION'**_

_'Grounds for termination include:_

_Frequent tardiness or absence _

_Failure to comply with deadlines or slacking_

_Inappropriate sexual relations with superiors _

_Committing criminal offences of any stature _

_Inability to cooperate or comply with colleagues leading to substandard performance _

_Please sign X _

'Inappropriate sexual relations with superiors' stuck out like a sore thumb and resonated in my mind with a ringing.

Crap.

If Austin was a superior I'd lose my job if anything continued between us.

Shit.

This contract was effectively the contract to both a job and abstinence from my newly acquainted love interest.

Damn.

No, really. Damn.

Maybe Austin isn't my superior, maybe he's a secondary processer too. Hopefully he's just a number pusher like me and maybe he'd still like to try it out.

'Hopefully' and 'maybe' weren't sounding too comforting though.

"There you go Miss Dawson." Mr Starr stated, sliding a pen over for me to sign with.

I grasped the pen but realised that in a way, it had a grasp on me. Should I sign, I'm effectively signing a way relationship with Austin. Should I not, which is highly unlikely, I'm signing away an apartment and a living.

I sign and date in the appropriate places and shake Mr Starr's hand.

"Glad to have you on board." He smiled sincerely.

My head was spinning a bit. I was over-joyed to finally have a stable job that I was capable of and meant I could have a decent life.

But that decent life was gonna be lacking a certain boyfriend prospect from last night.

How unfortunate.

…

That whole first day was a blur.

The blur started with Austin, but the rush of a new job with all sorts of corporate speak and corporate people left me slightly dazed.

Of course I could handle the work. While I'd been working as a math teacher I'd also been training for a processing career, and so while the place was foreign to me, the topic was anything but.

I knew numbers and I liked math, cause it all just made sense.

Maybe my situation with Austin could take a page out of math's book.

While I was showed to my desk by a tall brunette guy named Elliot, I let my mind flitter back to Austin.

Who am I kidding, my mind had never left him.

I was staying vigilant, keeping an eye out for him. I wasn't sure yet as to whether it was because I wanted to talk to him or avoid him.

Maybe both?

Guh.

I finally got to my desk and got myself sorted. I was informed of the basic proto calls, lunch hour, who I needed to see for help and got my account details for my computer. The tutorial on how to manipulate the spreadsheets was pretty simple, considering I already understood the process. I was also informed that I would need an 'overseer'. A mentor to 'show me the ropes' as Elliot put it.

"And will that be you?" I asked, inquisitively.

"No, I work in the primary finance faculty, I'd probably be no use in mentoring you." He smiled.

He seemed sweet.

But he wasn't Austin.

And unfortunately I wasn't really interested as a result.

"Oh okay. So who would be good to help me?"

"Kira Starr." He replied. "She's a bit of a bitch cause she's the bosses daughter but you kn-"

"Elliot." A girl interrupted as she poked her head out from underneath the opposite desk to mine. "Stop bad mouthing me, you know it's hard to do when I'm so great." She smiled and winked at him.

"Too true, Kir." He smiled back, leaning on her desk. "And it's for said greatness, that your father would like you to mentor our fresh meat, Ally." He stated, tilting his head towards me. Kira's followed.

"Excellent!" She exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and coming to sit on my desk.

Elliot's face faded a bit when she walked past him, however was still smiling.

"Think you can handle that Kir?" He asked, almost like a brother would his younger sister.

"Of course, Elliot." She smiled, still looking at me, making a motion with her hand as if to say 'talks a lot doesn't he?'

I laughed.

"Bye. See you at lunch." He shouted, walking down the rows of desks with a messenger bag.

"Kira. Lovely to meet you." She held out her hand.

"Ally. Pleasure to meet you to." I shook it.

"So, Ally, you look hot but I guess you're smart as well since you work here and my dad let my shitty hands show you the ropes."

I blushed, unsure of whether to reply or wait.

"Which means, first of all, I hate you, and second, I won't have to teach you much." She smiled and I laughed.

"Don't worry, I've put in an effort on the first day, but my looks will only go down hill from here. Besides you're _ridiculously _pretty." She was. She had long black flowing hair and was wearing a loose black dress, which accented her beautiful dark complexion and luscious legs. She was stunning. "And in terms of intelligence, you may be thoroughly underwhelmed."

"My dad might've made a mistake hiring you, then."

We both giggled.

Kira supervised me for the morning and directed me in terms of deadlines and so forth. Every so often my mind would go back to Austin, but I was starting to concentrate more on other things. She gave me a set of target lists and deadlines that needed to be fulfilled by the end of the week and told me new ones are issued weekly in my pigeon hole, which she showed me later.

I was starting to settle in.

…

At lunch I sat with Kira and Elliot in the massive cafeteria. It was on the floor below and had a similar set up to the offices; large glass walls with long rows of lunch tables that were in hexagonal shapes.

Kira and Elliot were chatting and I didn't want to interrupt the topic by bringing up Austin, so I chatted with them about politics. And anyway, maybe they didn't even know Austin. If he wasn't a superior, which I sincerely hoped, he'd have no reason to be infamous among thousands of work colleagues. Although he is gorgeous, so maybe word would get around.

"The supreme court was definitely unfairly against FDR in his proposal of the new deal though." Elliot stated.

"Yes, I'm not doubting that but what I'm saying is they weren't the main opposition to the new deal. Yes they, arguably, had more of a power in political in-house decisions, however the main opposition was the business owners. They hated the lack of a laissez-faire policy."

"Yeah and the increase in taxes - bad for trusts." I said, nibbling some pasta as I agreed with Kira.

"Look it's like the market and the superiors at work." Kira explained. "Although the superiors make decisions about who works here and how it's run, if no one invests, there is nothing to run or make decisions about. They have the biggest power, so they would be the biggest opponents."

"Okay yeah, I get what you're saying. Although I doubt Jimmy and the squad would go against us - we work too hard for that." Elliot said with a smile, burying the argument.

"The squad?" I asked, hoping to appear like I was just interested in the question for sheer knowledge, however secretly hoping it was something to do with the superiors.

"The team of superiors." Elliot replied.

Yes, on the right tracks.

"Jimmy Starr, Bill Watkins, Lisa Davies..."

Elliot carried on but I was only listening for one name.

"...Lance Jameson, Austin Moon and Kate Armstrong. 12 'bigshots' in the squad."

Inside I was screaming, like there was a hole in my gut and I was powerless to stop it.

He's my superior.

All hope was completely gone.

No decent life or no Austin.

Hard decision but I was gonna have to go with the latter.

He was a 'bigshot' and that meant I was a small shot.

And this was obviously a 'stay in your line' kind of situation.

Rnnggggg

I know we'd only just met, but it was like I was... dangling. Of course I hadn't fallen in love with him, it'd been one night for Christ's sake. But when I was with him, I was looking over the edge of the cliff and thought 'hey, maybe the fall wouldn't be so bad'. I was prepared to take the leap, something I'd never thought I'd be able to do after my parents split up. I was planted of the edge of that cliff with only one foot on the ground; I was dangling.

But then a yippity shit of an eagle named 'no inappropriate relations with superiors' came and knocked me flat on my ass on the cliff surface. Now I can't fall in love with him, there's no chance to, cause the eagle's built a block wall called 'my career', and should I break through it I get to fall but I leave everything that I have on top of the cliff: the house, the stable living and the security of a decent life.

_Decent _life.

Was that what I wanted?

I tried to appear cool to Kira and Elliot, acting like I was interested in it for no other reason than to learn the ropes.

"And are they okay, I mean like, are they nice people?" I asked, not looking at Kira or Elliot.

"Well Jimmy's a bit of an ass." Elliot smirked.

"Good one, Elliot." Kira retorted, elbowing Elliot.

"They're all fine as long as you do what they ask of you. You won't see them much, they tend to stay upstairs and only come down for urgent messages." Elliot explained.

"Actually we don't really know anything about the new guys." Kira exclaimed.

"And who're they?" I asked.

"Moon and Armstrong. They've only been working here about two months. They're both 'young prodigies' said to have excelled in math and business from a young age. They were hired after the last two bigshots were fired for breaching their contracts." Elliot explained.

"What'd they do?" I asked, interested.

"Young and Miller. They were caught trading sexual favours for occupational benefits with their faculty members. Ugly terminations. Jimmy apparently wanted new young applicants to full fill their roles in hopes that they would be more willing to try and prove themselves, and less likely to break the rules."

Shit.

So there was an added sense of danger in that Jimmy would be on high alert.

Well I guess there's no chance in hell, I'll just start getting cats now.

Maybe I could live with Trish and her husband.

Who am I kidding? I will end up living with Trish and her husband, she'll never move out.

Damn.

...

After lunch I developed a routine system of processing.

It was a simple task of moving data from column to column, then using a certain formula to produce potential statistics.

I was getting the hang of it pretty quickly, since it required little thought.

Instead my thoughts were with Austin.

Every now and then I'd look up to the balcony area and see if I could see him, but alas, to no avail.

I just wanted to see him.

See those gorgeous brown eyes.

See those luscious muscles.

See that soft flowing hair.

Among other things...

I thought maybe seeing him would give me an answer, that maybe I'd stop doing all this incessant thinking and actually take action.

But since I didn't see him, the thinking continued, dragging on and on.

I was going mad and it seemed the cure was also the cause.

...

I said goodbye to Kira as I waited at the bus stop outside the office. The light was starting to fade, lending a much more mature tone to the day. This time of day was when people were leaving work and ready to go out or see their families. I loved this time of day and this type of light, cause it meant the start of the evening, the start of relaxation. It was emphasised by the fact it was Saturday so lots of people, myself included, didn't have to work tomorrow.

Nice timing, right?

But despite the fact that the rest of the country was starting to relax, I was still vexed.

Screw the world.

Screw it's shitty misfortune and it's crappy ultimatums.

Screw it's pointless struggles.

And screw it for not letting me get to screw.

The bus arrived and I got on. I thought about how I was going out with Trish tonight, whether it was a good idea, but I knew she would make me go regardless of my feelings towards it.

It was at that moment I felt a buzz and looked at my phone.

**Trish**

**17:08**

**New club, 7pm, yeah? I'll meet you there, gotta go pick something up at the drug store. You better be there, bitch xxx**

Sigh.

I loved Trish with all my heart. But after the day I just had I wanted to just relax and wallow.

Starting a new job was hard.

Processing was hard.

Finding out you can't be with someone you _really _like is hard.

But I was just gonna have to suck it up and try and have some fun.

Hey, maybe I'd meet someone new.

Yeah, good one Ally.

No one would make me feel like I did with Austin.

No one could match his gentlemanly stature and sexual credentials.

No one could make promiscuity sound so poetic.

No one could kiss me like he did.

No one.

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

The part that annoyed me the most was that I felt so stupid, like I was some lovestruck 15 year old, who's just been winked at by the quarterback. I mean he is just a boy. He's a boy that I met _yesterday_. How could I be so hung up? Thinking about him all day, actually considering whether he was more important than a decent life and job as well as fucking _fantasising_ about him.

Fucking idiot.

He's probably not giving me a second thought. I hate how I'm reduced to mush because of him, I've never been hung up over boys, and I'm only now realising why that was a blessing. I'm a strong woman, I know I am: I lived in a rough neighbourhood, supporting myself on half-wages supplied by a struggling school; I've repaired stab wounds that knife-crime victims faced in my area; I self-tutored myself to a university-degree standard in math just so I could make something of myself. And I didn't have 'lovestruck teeny bopper' in my mind when I was thinking about what I wanted to become.

I should stop thinking so much.

For the first time in my life, I realised thinking can be bad for you.

The bus arrived at my stop and I walked up to my apartment to get ready. As I walked in I remembered the situation I was in last night in this very apartment and how happy I felt.

Now none of that could ever happen again.

Okay, it didn't matter how strong I was.

I was a girly girl and I liked boys and I liked it when they kissed me and it didn't make anything else complicated. And in truth, I could save as many knife-crime victims as I wanted, tutor myself in anything and live in a ditch in the sahara desert. I could be the strongest woman in the world. I would still be upset at the fact that I made a connection, admittedly a short one, but a powerful one, and I wasn't allowed to act on it because it would tear away everything I worked so fucking hard for.

Piss.

...

I felt the pulse of the night club's music wash through me, giving me mini heart-attacks.

Or was that Austin?

Or the fact that I couldn't be with him?

Urgh.

"I'm not even kidding Trish, he is basically my boss." I sighed, spreading my upper body across the bar as far as my tight black dress with a white belt would allow me.

"Shit, I'm sorry babe, that sucks. I mean so is it likely you'll lose your job? Because I'm not sure I can support us working in a grocery store." She slightly giggled, patting me on the back.

"Well... the contract read 'being involved in inappropriate relations with superiors' as grounds for termination, so I'm assuming that has the connotations of being in the present, meaning I should be able to keep my job. However that does mean I can't date Austin, since he's my 'superior' and that's 'inappropriate'." I moaned, ducking my head into my arms on the bar.

Trish looked at me with kind eyes as she continued rubbing my back, empathising with my struggle.

"Fuck. The one time - the _one_ time I find someone who I actually see myself with... who I actually felt comfortable around, even though we'd only just met, and he's off limits."

"Why not just go for it? Keep it a secret." Trish asked, looking hopeful.

"I can't see that happening. The inappropriate relations works both ways in terms of getting fired and I doubt Austin would want to risk that. Plus I need this job: the apartment relies on the income I get from it. I don't wanna risk that for a guy I just met." I sighed.

Even though he was more than that.

"Ohh Ally. What're we gonna do with you?" Trish exclaimed, looking around, almost as if she was actually asking herself what she was gonna do.

And funnily enough, she actually got a reply.

"Evening ladies." A waiter came over, holding a tray with two drinks on it.

I looked at him confused; we hadn't ordered anything yet.

"These are from the two gentlemen in the corner. They hope your friend is not too sad." He said, setting the drinks down before us and talking to Trish.

Shit.

Now I was getting pity from strangers.

Great.

"Thanks." Trish beamed and the waiter left, donning a smile.

Trish looked over at the two guys and smiled. "Ally, we should go over there, maybe it'd get your mind off Austin."

I looked over at the two guys in the corner, trying to see if they could really get Austin off my mind.

They were both tall, I could tell even though they were sitting down. One was a tanned with relatively short black hair that was assorted into a small afro and was wearing a brown leather jacket and some jeans. The other was slightly blonde although mainly brunette and was wearing a cowboy-esque shirt with line patterns running across the torso.

They looked over at us and motioned for us to come over, smiling.

They were good looking, they were, but...

They weren't _him._

They didn't have those big brown eyes, or the bleach blonde hair. They didn't make my knees weak when they looked at me. They didn't make me feel special.

_Really special._

But then again, they didn't work with me. They wouldn't mean I could lose my job, my house, my sanity.

And I guess that made them better for me.

"Yeah, okay." I timidly said to Trish, getting up off my stool and following her over to the guys in the corner.

Then something quickly dawned on me.

"Wait, Trish, what about Dez? Aren't you kinda with him now?" I asked Trish, gripping her arm from behind, halting us.

"We're not exclusive. Besides just because we're going over to these guys and they bought us drinks doesn't mean we owe them anything." Trish said, nonchalantly.

I nodded off my worriment and we continued on our way over to the guys who stood and greeted us as we arrived.

"Hello ladies. Nice of you to join us." The cowboy-looking guy welcomed us. "I'm Gavin and this here's my friend Trent." He said, motioning to his friend.

"Hi. I'm Trish and this is my friend Ally. It was so nice of you to buy us those drinks, my friend's had one of those days." Trish beamed, motioning to me.

I smiled shyly at her gesture towards me.

"Well, hopefully we can cheer her up a bit." Gavin said, looking at me with a smile and offering me his hand to sit down.

I timidly took it and sat down, forcing a smile back.

"Thanks." I said, plainly.

No sparks.

No nothing.

No Austin.

I looked over and saw that Trish and Trent had already journeyed out to the bar to get some shots.

Trish worked fast. _Really_ fast.

"So Ally, I know what you're thinking." He said with a confident smirk.

"Uh huh and what's that?" I asked, feeling slightly more comfortable now I'd had a sip of my drink.

"'Why on Earth would this incredibly handsome guy buy me a drink when I'm so down in the dumps? Surely I can't be any fun when I'm sad, why would he want me?'" He replied, only half-jokingly.

"Wow. Spot on." I stated, sarcastically.

"Well, I'm just that kinda guy you see, Ally; I'm a giver. I like to help people when they're down." He said, cockily sitting back and taking a swig of his drink.

Brilliant.

Someone who was going to _help _me.

Ass.

I inwardly scoffed, staring into his fulfilled eyes. This wasn't going to help me. _He _wasn't going to help me.

Austin's attentive, smart, funny and... great.

Gavin seemed cocky, petulant and... urgh.

Too far up his own ass to see that I don't think I'm not good enough for him just because I'm sad and that maybe 'helping me' might actually mean leaving me alone.

I thought about getting up and leaving but I couldn't see Trish and didn't want to just abandon her.

"Tha-that's very nice of you." I said, attempting not to be sarcastic.

"You know how it is. Listen, you've almost finished you're drink, Trent didn't want to buy you big ones in case you said no." He said, grabbing my shoulder softly.

Charming.

"Let me go and get another one for you and you can tell me about that horrible day of yours." He said, smiling.

Okay.

Maybe he wasn't _that _bad.

He said he'd listen and that was admirable.

But he still wasn't _him._

There were no sparks. He wasn't like my own personal drug. He was just...

Meh.

…

"Yeah, so I told him to shove it and that I don't care about his fucking debt troubles. My dad obviously just couldn't see that I was going to make it big. So I left him and moved out here, to focus on my music." Gavin bragged, sipping his drink. "So I totally get what you mean when you say you have family troubles."

"Yeah it's not really what I meant..." I trailed, inaudibly. He didn't even let me explain what I meant by family struggles. To be honest I hadn't really brought it up, I'd just mentioned my parents were divorced and it was a struggle.

This night was so frustrating, having some arsehole wine on about himself and rubbing too close to me.

I'd lost sight of Trish and had decided I'd suffered enough. She could take the car and I'd just get a taxi back.

"Gavin, sorry, but I'm feeling a bit ill so I think I'm gonna head home." I said, faking a shrivelled voice.

"Oh darlin' really? I thought we were havin' so mu*hiccup*ch fun." He slurred, leaning in close to my ear.

"Umm, yeah, but I really don't feel great. I should go." I insisted, getting up.

"You getting' a taxi?" He asked, I nodded, tired. "Let me walk you to the taxi bay." He said, getting up slightly shoddily.

He was already leading me out the door before I had the time to protest.

...

I could see the taxi bay at the end of the street we were on. I thought it fair that I say goodbye to Gavin here and let him get back to the club.

"Okay Gavin, thanks for the drinks and the company tonight. Guess I'll see you around." I said, looking at the floor. "Goodbye." I said, urging him to leave.

He turned to me and gave a puzzled look, with his mouth hanging open as if gobsmacked.

The look was forceful though, as if I'd insulted him.

I was slightly puzzled until...

"YOU'RE SHITTIN' ME GIRL! THIS IS BULLSHIT! **BULLSHIT!**" He shouted grabbing my wrist, making me turn and face him.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

Oh piss shit fuck.

I could hear pounding, like my whole body was throbbing.

"I bought you drinks. I spent my whole night with you. I DESERVE SOMETHING, BITCH!" He screamed, increasing his grip.

Fuck this dark street. Fuck it's lack of witnesses. Fuck Gavin.

Fuck.

"I- I don't owe you shit! N-now l-let me go!" I shouted, although with a slight quiver in my voice.

I struggled my arm, trying to get out of his grasp, unfortunately to no avail.

Instead he pulled me flush against his chest; I could smell the alcohol.

"Come on baby, you know you want to." He whispered close to my ear. "Just open up and we can have a good, honest fuck. You know you're pussy is aching and I can see that look in your face - you want it." He whispered creepily, sliding his hand up my thigh, hiking up my dress.

His hand was painfully caressing my thigh and his other hand was gripping my wrist so tight it was going numb.

Everything was in slow motion but it was still all too fast.

I couldn't think.

I couldn't move.

I-I couldn't.

Suddenly his hand climbed to the bottom of my underwear trying to tug them down.

My body kicked into gear and I was powerless to stop it.

Not that I was going to.

My instantaneous reflexes kicked in.

I stopped resisting his hand so his weight took him forward, almost falling into me. As he leaned I kneed him in the crotch at the first opportunity, making sure to use as much power as I could.

His grip released and he slowly started to shrivel to the ground.

I was still really scared and didn't know what to do.

I did it before I could stop myself.

I kicked him in the head with a clean swipe when he got about half way to the ground.

The action was met with a growl from Gavin and a slow tumble to the ground.

"You don't touch me. E-ever." I ordered with a hoarse voice, strutting down to the taxi bay.

I-wha-I.

Wher- I – I- .

Home.

That's where I needed to be.

I couldn't stop shivering and it wasn't even cold.

My head was pounding but I wasn't even drunk.

I could hear my own blood in my ears.

I was just so scared.

I just wanted to get home.

I wanted to get away from creepy rapists and be in the safety of my house.

Please.

My head was spinning and I just couldn't think straight. I clambered into a nearby taxi and sunk into the seat, relieved that I didn't have to support myself on my shaky legs anymore.

"Where to, mam?" The taxi driver asked as I got in a cab.

Home. Get me home.

"32nd on 5th."

"You got it."

…

It was in the taxi that I remembered about Trish.

Shit.

What if Trent was an ass too?

Oh my God.

What if Trish weren't as lucky as me?

I called her, starting to panic.

The ringing was slow and painful, knowing each ring was a sign she wasn't okay.

"Hello?" I heard Trish's voice along with a pulse of music.

"Trish! Thank God you're okay. Listen, that guy I was with, Gavin, he- he got forceful when I was walking to leave and I-"

"Shit, Ally are you okay?" Trish asked, concerned.

"Yeah no, I'm fine, I'm- yeah, but I'm heading home. I'm sorry I left you but I just couldn't stay, Trish. Listen, you should be careful about that Trent guy: if he's anything like Gavin he's bad news."

"Ally, don't worry, I left Trent. I found someone here I'd rather be with." She said with a very slight giggle.

"Oh, okay, um, great. I'll see you at home?" I asked, puzzled.

"Maybe, maybe not." She giggled slightly again, almost undetectable. "I really hope you're okay Ally and I'm so sorry, I should have helped." Trish's voice suddenly got serious, like she was fully realising what had happened to me. "Fuck I should have watched out for you. I should've walked with you. I should have - I'm a terrible friend I-"

"Trish shhh. Don't worry, I took care of myself and I'll be much much much more careful next time. You have fun tonight."

"Ok. And listen I'm sorry about Austin as well, I really am, it must've been a really shit day today."

"Yeah. You could say that. Anyways, bye Trish, have fun."

"Bye Ally." she hung up with a slight shake in her voice.

"Thanks, here's great." I said to the taxi driver, paying him the necessary amount.

As I strode down the pavement I felt little drops of rain and sped up to get to my apartment.

Great, perfect end to the night – a rain storm to follow the shit storm.

I walked through the lobby and briefly checked my mail, to see if there's was any good news for today.

Nada.

I looked up at the mailbox on top of mine and saw 'A. Moon and D. Wade Apt. 20'.

Fuck.

I'd kinda forgotten we lived in the same building, what with all the new information today.

I might see him around the apartment. Crap, that means I'll have to talk to him and say that we can't be together. And then he'll probably get other girls and I'll have to see them go up to his apartment and be everything I can't be and fuck shit fuck balls mneehhhh.

I think that just about sums it up.

I'm exhausted, I'm so so fucking tired and I'm over-thinking everything and under-thinking my decisions regarding safety with random, creepy guys at clubs. And I'm pissed cause the decent life that I wanted means that I don't get the decent love life I wanted and it just makes me feel like I've worked for nothing.

I just wanted to stop thinking about new jobs and no jobs, new boyfriend or no boyfriend, alcohol and arseholes. As well as the fact that all of that stuff was completely shit. The fact that I had to deal with it regardless because this is my new life that I've worked so hard for and there's no changing it.

Tears

That's what came out my eyes.

And sobs.

That's what came out my mouth.

I ran up the flights of stairs and slammed my apartment door behind me.

I'm never normally this dramatic, I promise.

Maybe I'm due a period.

That's what my mom would think.

Or maybe I'm due a strop.

Like you know when everything just gets to you? Everything that's bad just builds up and assembles this pile of shit on your life and you don't know how to deal with it? And it sits there and festers, affecting your perspective so you blow everything out of proportion, like it's a magnifying pile of shit. Then the only _rational_ way to deal with it all is to be completely _irrational_. Just completely lose it and have a day or so where your mind is a mess so you become and mess and shout and scream and let it all out?

Yeah, well I guess I'm having one of those days.

'Strop days' as mom used to say.

Except the new job and the new people meant all the shouting and screaming had to be done on the inside, otherwise their first impression of me would have been 'crazy irrationally scary girl' and it didn't have the same ring to it as 'new girl'.

I'd had to bottle everything up.

And it hasn't helped anything.

It's been one day of stress.

The job, Austin, the new people, the club, Gavin and the incident.

I just wanna sit and wallow.

**Right that's it!**

**Enough bullshit thinking!**

**It's time to stop thinking!**

I'm gonna get changed into something snug and try to enjoy my night the way I want; ice cream, a crappy film and tea.

I slipped off my shoes and dress with force and put on my white, lazy jumper and some snug jeans.

The black jeans were high-waisted so I didn't have to wear a belt and the jumper was cropped, so no worries if I had a bit of a sticky-out stomach.

Perfect lounge gear I'd say.

Okay.

Let's do this.

Kettle boiling, rom-com in the DVD slot, ice cream out of the freezer.

I'm gonna try and salvage this shitty day.

I just need one more thing...

I knew the chocolate syrup was somewhere, Trish said she got some from the grocery store.

I checked in all the cupboards and when I finally found it in the last one there was a knock at the door.

Maybe Trish didn't get lucky after all.

Or maybe she was going to and forgot her key.

Ew.

Next door sex noises were never a good lullaby.

I waltzed over to the door, undoing the latch and swung it open.

Jesus.

Fucking.

Christ.

The feeling of de ja vu was numbing.

The same muscles.

The same bleach blonde hair.

The same hazel eyes.

The very same as those of yesterday, the ones that have haunted my thoughts the whole day. Slowly driving me mad. I can't even think what to say.

Maybe he's here to say we can't see each other again?

Of course he's here to say that stupid.

I kind of want to close the door, seeing him is dizzying and the thought of him saying that we can't be anything was sickening.

I was rooted to the spot yet my body thought I was on a rollercoaster.

His face was slightly different though.

Yesterday he had a little smirk.

Today he looked focused and concentrated.

I probably looked like a mess.

I didn't have any response to this situation.

"Tell me you did it too." He said, looking straight into my eyes.

His voice was almost pleading, and I wanted to say yes, but I didn't know what he was saying.

"Austin, I - Sorry?" I asked in a puzzled manner.

"Tell me you did what I did today. Tell me you spent the whole day doing the things that I did. Please." He pleaded, exasperatedly.

"Austin I don't know what you mean."

"Tell me you spent the whole day thinking about us. The fact that our contracts mean we can't be together and how that made you want to punch a hole in a wall. And that if we seen so much as to be seen making out, we'd lose our jobs, never mind all the other things we'd wanna do. The fact that all I want to do is kiss you and hold you but those are the things I can't do, and the thought is actually scaring me. Tell me you spent every minute at work hating how it meant we couldn't be together. Tell me you want us together so bad that, for a split second, you thought about not taking the job."

Oh my God.

"And tell me you felt stupid. Really fucking stupid. Like 'how the fuck am I an adult when I'm being this stupid?'. Cause it's been a day, not even that, a night, and I _can't_ stop thinking about you. Your beautiful hair and your smooth silky skin and the way you scrunch your nose when you laugh and how it makes me feel warm and how your body was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen and how you're so funny and cute that I smiled just thinking about you."

He stepped in closer to me, so close I could hear a trace of his racing heart.

It sounded like how mine felt.

"Tell me you thought you were crazy. Tell me you thought you were the maddest person alive, cause it's been so short. But tell me you also kind of thought it was like Romeo and Juliet, that there was such an instant connection so we didn't need much time. And tell me you thought that was stuid too." He smiled, laughing a little but still trying to be serious.

I smiled.

"Tell me you've been going mad all day, with the idea of never being together again. Never feeling your lips, never touching your skin, never making love again. Tell me you felt the hurt, right there, in the pit of your stomach."

He leaned in and grabbed my waist gently, pulling me in and placing his hand on my stomach.

"The thought that we couldn't be together again made you feel like you'd been stabbed. Tell me this all went through your mind, and it was all that went through your mind. All day, every hour, every second was just a shit ton of thinking filled with every emotion you could think of. And you just want it to stop."

He leaned his head against mine and he shut his eyes, both hands now around my waist. He was breathing heavily because of the monologue he'd just spat out.

This is what I'd wanted all day, this here now, but I knew all day it was wrong.

But now here I am, forehead-to-forehead with Austin.

Breathing the same air and beating to the same time.

And all I can think is, 'How the HELL could this be wrong?'

The universe doesn't know what it's doing. Cause if it put me in a position where I can't do _this_, it doesn't know up from down.

"Ally, tell me you did it too. Please."

"Austin." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Get out of my head." I smiled.

He smiled.

And just like that, he kissed me.

He picked me up in an all consuming kiss, his armed wrapped around me, keeping me safe.

And we stayed there, him kissing me and me kissing him, my feet never touching the ground.

I guess you could say I was dangling.

**Okay you have every right to hate me. Like seriously, I kinda hate myself. This is definitely not 'next Sunday' I know, and I feel completely awful. The truth is, I had to actually do my GCSEs and that kinda got in the way for the most part. And then also writing a 7,000 word chapter actually takes a fucking long-ass time when you're not too motivated to do it. And also this has been written and re-written so many times I think the total is up at around 7 and I'm still very unhappy with it. These are by no means excuses, because really, I don't think any excuse would do, but I thought I should at least let you know why I've been such a shitty writer.**

**Reviews again are so so appreciated, but of course (and understandably) not expected. I may have read quite a few in the early mornings of my exam period to calm me down when I got panicky. **

**Again so sorry. **

**So so sorry.**


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